The fifth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers welcome in the Indiana Hoosiers tonight in Big Ten College Basketball action. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the Betting Odds have the Badgers favored to hammer the Hoosiers in this one.
Indiana is very good at home. On the road though they tend to struggle quite a bit, losing three of their five games away from Assembly Hall this season. Wisconsin is an absolute machine on both ends of the floor and they are the class of the Big Ten, beating up on everyone this season. Tonight they welcome in an Indiana team that already has picked up 16 wins on the season but needs a bigtime signature win in order to cement themselves in the NCAA Tournament discussion.
Beating a team like Wisconsin would certainly go a long way in helping that. This will be the only scheduled meeting between these two clubs and Indiana hasn't won in Madison since the late 90s.
In this game tonight we have a team in Indiana that loves to get up and down the floor, scoring better than 80 points per game on the season — although the Hoosiers are scoring just 71.4 points per game in Big Ten action this year. They feed off opponents turnovers into easy buckets but Wisconsin is one of the best teams in the country at not turning the basketball over; the Badgers rank third-best in America with just 7.7 turnovers per game. Their defense allows opponents to score just 55 points per game as well as they will look to slow Indiana down.
Frank Kaminsky for Wisconsin and Yogi Ferrell for Indiana will both be keys to tonight's game. Kaminsky is arguably the player of the year in college basketball and does a great job on both ends of the floor. Ferrell and frosh star guard James Blackmon Jr. make up one of the best backcourts in the league and both are going to play well tonight in order for the Hoosiers to have any type of success.
Indiana has beaten four of their five ranked opponents this season, but none of those games came on the road. Even more startling is Indiana has lost four straight and 33 of their last 36 road contests against ranked teams. That certainly doesn't bode well for them tonight.
Free Pick: Wisconsin 74, Indiana 65
$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
Get more Free Picks from the Pregame Pros HERE.
Be sure and check out Pregame.tv every week for our videos that include handicapping tips, Webinars, analysis and Free Plays.